Taxi numbers capped as cabbies struggle in recession (From Daily Echo)
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Council sticks to ‘hail and ride’ cab limit of 283 in Southampton
1:00pm Saturday 16th June 2012 in News
By Matt Smith, Politics and business reporter
THERE will be no increase in taxis on Southampton’s city streets – after cabbies said more competition would ruin their livelihoods.
Cabbies, who complained to councillors about already overflowing ranks from a lack of work, feared even more taxis will make it even harder for them to make ends meet.
Councillors agreed to follow the recommendations of a once in three-year review by transport consultants and keep the number of hail and ride cabs in the city capped at 283.
Clive Johnson, chairman of the Southampton Trade Association, which has around 450 members including 100 Hackney Carriage drivers, welcomed the decision.
“It was inevitable really. At the present moment in time we’ve got taxi drivers being booked for parking at the end of ranks because we’ve nowhere to go. There is no work out there.”
Consultants Halcrow, who were paid £15,000 to carry out the survey, found sufficient taxis were “generally available” in the city although there was a need for more wheelchair friendly cabs.
Only one third of those surveyed felt the taxi service could be improved, but nearly half thought fares should be cheaper. Nearly half the cabbies surveyed said they would leave the trade if more licences were issued, and 84 per cent said they wanted additional and longer ranks.
Ian Hall, chairman of the Southampton Hackney Association, told councillors there were only 15 24-hour taxi ranks in the city with spaces for 73 taxis, leaving a shortfall of 210 spaces. He added the council had shortened the ranks in recent years.
Despite opposition from the trade, three years ago the council agreed to issue 20 more lucrative taxi licences - worth up to £35,000 on the open market – in a controversial secret lottery exposed by the Daily Echo.
Perry McMillan, from the Southampton taxi section of the Unite union, said: “This survey confirms what we’ve been saying all along. We feel the decision three years ago to ignore our pleas has caused a lot of hardship for the trade. And the timing of the (latest) survey, before the last eight new plates went on in December, shows we didn’t need them.”
The survey also found more permits should be issued for taxis to work the docks, and that more needed to be done to improve access and reduce congestion.
Docks owners ABP signed an agreement with the council three years ago to issue permits and enforce standards after concerns about scruffy drivers, cherry picking of fares, and allegations of overcharging. The permits cost £63.
But the decision could be challenged as under Government guidelines Southampton City Council must show that retaining a limit on the number of taxis in the city benefits customers.
One Conservative councillor, Brian Parnell, questioned whether the city should remain closed shop to new cabbies.
The number of licensed private hire vehicles - around 550 - is not limited.
Comments(35)
pod
says...
1:16pm Sat 16 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:I ask only three things of my taxi driver.
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
1. can speak and understand english
2. knows where they are going
3. clean and tidy.
I once got into a pre-booked taxi to go from itchen to bitterne, and the driver had no idea, then he took a wrong turning and tried to charge me an another time got into a taxi at the station and asked for bitterne, and he asked me if I wanted to go via portswood. I got out.
If I am paying for a service I should be able to decide who I spend my money with.
bigfella777
says...
1:57pm Sat 16 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:Yes and that is why they love the taxi trade so much because it enables them to commit benefit fraud as no one knows that they are working.That is why they are quite happy to sit around and clog up the ranks all day as all there bills are already being paid by us.
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
Google it and look through the amount of court cases it is staggering,when they get caught they just say they were confused and offer to pay the money back at a small rate.It is one of the biggest scams in this country and should be routed out.
bekki83
says...
2:37pm Sat 16 Jun 12
flatulence hero
says...
3:05pm Sat 16 Jun 12
Reliable and safe and polite.
Priced fairly.
Do not really care where the driver comes from providing they deliver the above.
The hotel we stay at normally use West Quay Cars, not sure I would be so happy in a "white cab".
pod
says...
4:58pm Sat 16 Jun 12
flatulence hero wrote:I do not care where the driver comes from, don't care if it is mars as long as we can communicate and they know where they are going.
I have always had great service from the "cabbies" in Southampton.
Reliable and safe and polite.
Priced fairly.
Do not really care where the driver comes from providing they deliver the above.
The hotel we stay at normally use West Quay Cars, not sure I would be so happy in a "white cab".
Lone Ranger.
says...
5:00pm Sat 16 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:How do you know that they are immigrants if you "see" them.
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
.
Judging by the colour of their skin is somewhat foolish and leaves you open to your usual biased opinion
British asian
says...
5:40pm Sat 16 Jun 12
British asian
says...
5:41pm Sat 16 Jun 12
andysaints007
says...
5:42pm Sat 16 Jun 12
bekki83 wrote:And you are still being mugged off at £12 for a 3 mile journey!!!
I got in one of these white cabs last weekend and they wanted £18 to travel 3.2 miles. I called West Quay Cars and got the fair £6 cheaper!! Thats why the white hail and ride cabs are empty - they are overpriced, WQC drivers are generally better, cleaner and more polite too.
andysaints007
says...
5:45pm Sat 16 Jun 12
British asian wrote:What makes you so BRITISH then ?
You silly child, the very first asian taxi driver has been in taxis for 42 years and in the UK long long before you or your parents were probably born. Some of the others have been in Southampton since the 60s, some are born here AND only a small proportion are IMMIGRANTS. What makes you so "BRITISH" ? If you want to debate it is the CELTS who are ingenious to the land mass of "ENGLAND" who happen to be the WELSH. Last week you were celebrating the DIAMOND JUBILEE of the Queen who is of the SAXO-COBURG House - GERMAN!!! You silly silly boy, the roots of your MONARCH are not even ENGLISH/BRITISH. Incidentally Prince Philip is a Greek "immigrant".
kissmya%%
says...
6:30pm Sat 16 Jun 12
dango
says...
6:35pm Sat 16 Jun 12
kissmya%% wrote:they were Yo-Yo's, you should have given them time to recoil back in!
some drivers are good but some are bad ! eg- some yo-yo biscuits fell out of my shopping bag , did he hand them to the police nop :) sod !
kissmya%%
says...
6:38pm Sat 16 Jun 12
dango wrote:well i got a crime number , The book of punishments for the guilty driver , it ruined my day !
kissmya%% wrote:they were Yo-Yo's, you should have given them time to recoil back in!
some drivers are good but some are bad ! eg- some yo-yo biscuits fell out of my shopping bag , did he hand them to the police nop :) sod !
I would of done time if it was trio biscuits which went missing in the 80's :(
wossit
says...
7:13pm Sat 16 Jun 12
wossit
says...
7:24pm Sat 16 Jun 12
wossit
says...
7:24pm Sat 16 Jun 12
wossit
says...
7:24pm Sat 16 Jun 12
bigfella777
says...
8:20pm Sat 16 Jun 12
chunky_lover
says...
10:15pm Sat 16 Jun 12
Essruu
says...
3:38am Sun 17 Jun 12
bekki83 wrote:You're still being charged more than you should be then! WQ Cars use their own tariff, not the one for fares set by Soton City Council. That. 3.2 mile journey with Radio Taxis would cost £7.70 daytime or £9.80 at night (11pm-6am).
I got in one of these white cabs last weekend and they wanted £18 to travel 3.2 miles. I called West Quay Cars and got the fair £6 cheaper!! Thats why the white hail and ride cabs are empty - they are overpriced, WQC drivers are generally better, cleaner and more polite too.
bravebeth
says...
5:27am Sun 17 Jun 12
100%HANTSBOY
says...
8:07am Sun 17 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:Racist troll please ignore
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
sotonandproud
says...
10:54am Sun 17 Jun 12
jonnyx
says...
4:28pm Sun 17 Jun 12
sotonandproud wrote:it clearly doesn't make you think you racist p***ck.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
Georgem
says...
4:33pm Sun 17 Jun 12
chunky_lover wrote:Are you for real? People take taxis for all sorts of reasons. If you can't think of at least one, you're even more of a simpleton than I thought.
Who even takes taxis anyway? What's wrong with your own car?? Something I've never understood.
sotonandproud
says...
8:00pm Sun 17 Jun 12
jonnyx wrote:wouldnt say i was a racist p**ck but im not dyslexic either you prat theres only 5 letters not 6 in p**ck obviously schooled in a diffrent country.
sotonandproud wrote:it clearly doesn't make you think you racist p***ck.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
Georgem
says...
8:09pm Sun 17 Jun 12
sotonandproud wrote:Yep. The UK has zero illiteracy. Fantastic.
jonnyx wrote:wouldnt say i was a racist p**ck but im not dyslexic either you prat theres only 5 letters not 6 in p**ck obviously schooled in a diffrent country.
sotonandproud wrote:it clearly doesn't make you think you racist p***ck.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
sotonandproud
says...
8:25pm Sun 17 Jun 12
Georgem wrote:thats because our children have to learn polish, romanian, latvian, hindu,urdu and many other tongues before they can be taught english
sotonandproud wrote:Yep. The UK has zero illiteracy. Fantastic.
jonnyx wrote:wouldnt say i was a racist p**ck but im not dyslexic either you prat theres only 5 letters not 6 in p**ck obviously schooled in a diffrent country.
sotonandproud wrote:it clearly doesn't make you think you racist p***ck.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
The Salv
says...
8:56pm Sun 17 Jun 12
sotonandproud wrote:Exactley, spot on, everybody knows this.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
The Salv
says...
9:03pm Sun 17 Jun 12
British asian wrote:Are you one of the racist shovanistic bigoted **** taxi drivers that regularely submit my girlfriend and her friends to racist and sexist abuse? I also remember that pakistani taxi driver caught on cctv camera in cab subjecting 3 oap women to abusive behavior on the news a year ago.
Silly boy referring to you "the salve"
The Salv
says...
9:05pm Sun 17 Jun 12
Lone Ranger. wrote:Because they cant speak English you richard.
The Salv wrote:How do you know that they are immigrants if you "see" them.
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
.
Judging by the colour of their skin is somewhat foolish and leaves you open to your usual biased opinion
sass
says...
12:15am Mon 18 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:Going by the standards here for grammar, punctuation and spelling neither can most of you Brit oiks.
Lone Ranger. wrote:Because they cant speak English you richard.The Salv wrote: Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.How do you know that they are immigrants if you "see" them. . Judging by the colour of their skin is somewhat foolish and leaves you open to your usual biased opinion
The word is spelled chauvanistic.
Lone Ranger.
says...
9:36am Mon 18 Jun 12
The Salv wrote:Oh i suggest you read your own post ......... It clearly states "SEE" not HEARD ........... So how do you know they cant speak English ......... Youre the richard
Lone Ranger. wrote:Because they cant speak English you richard.
The Salv wrote:How do you know that they are immigrants if you "see" them.
Most cabbies I see in Southampton are immigrants. They drive as if they were in their home country too, really dangerously.
.
Judging by the colour of their skin is somewhat foolish and leaves you open to your usual biased opinion
Georgem
says...
11:45am Mon 18 Jun 12
sotonandproud wrote:Yes, I'm sure Southampton is just teeming with primary school kids that can speak upwards of 5 foreign languages.
Georgem wrote:thats because our children have to learn polish, romanian, latvian, hindu,urdu and many other tongues before they can be taught english
sotonandproud wrote:Yep. The UK has zero illiteracy. Fantastic.
jonnyx wrote:wouldnt say i was a racist p**ck but im not dyslexic either you prat theres only 5 letters not 6 in p**ck obviously schooled in a diffrent country.
sotonandproud wrote:it clearly doesn't make you think you racist p***ck.
even these so called immigrants cant make a living as cabbies. Thats why their taking over every shell petrol station. And lets be honest being a cabbie is a nearly all cash business makes you think doesnt it
The Salv says...
1:09pm Sat 16 Jun 12